Steven Flood of Wilbraham charged with indecent assault on a child under 14

PALMER - A 48-year-old Wilbraham man is scheduled to return to Palmer District Court next month on a charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

Steven P. Flood, of 980 Tinkham Road, was charged by Wilbraham police after the alleged victim reported that he assaulted him in 1997 when he was 9 years old. The victim said he was friends with Flood's son, and that Flood fondled him when they were swimming in a pool, according to Flood's court file.

The victim told police that he never spoke about Flood, but his feelings of anger about what happened were reinforced after the birth of his own child, according to the narrative in the file by Officer Shawn Baldwin.

Flood, who was ordered at his April arraignment to have no unsupervised contact with children under 14 and no contact with the victim, will return to court on July 18 for another pretrial conference. Flood has denied the charge. He was in court on Tuesday for a pretrial conference.